A hero's grave
by Niceguy42
Summary: Heroes, it's a term used to describe many people, one of those is Spyro, who defeated the Dark Master at long last, allowing for peace to flourish, but at the cost of one of the Dragons who felt like a father to him, now grief is instilled in Spyro, and he must overcome it (a one-shot)


**(For my first one-shot ****of 2020, I figured I'd do a less cheery take on the aftermath of Dawn of the Dragon, more or less, it's a funeral, but not for Spyro nor Cynder, considering they are alive and well here, anyways, enjoy)**

The stars glowed brightly as a Purple Dragon was walking up to a small stone that was engraved into the ground, on the edge of a mountainside, he was not alone, he was with three Guardians, a Black Dragoness, and one Dragonfly, a small tear rolled down his cheek as he lit a small fire at the foot of the gravestone, and he moved aside as the Earth Guardian, Terrador, stepped forward.

"Today is a heavy day for all Dragon kind, though the world was saved, thanks to Spyro and Cynder, it is not without a cost, we have lost a close friend: Ignitus, he based his principals of life on compassion and courage, and it is not without him that Malefor could be defeated, if anyone else wishes to speak, they may do so now" Terrador stepped back as the Ice Guardian, Cyril, was actually crying, much to Spyro's slight amusement.

"W-what are you looking at? I'm not crying, you are!" Cyril snapped through obvious tears as Volteer patted him on the back.

"Your one weakness, just let go of your pride already" the Eletric Guardian told him as Sparx the dragonfly crossed his arms.

"Spyro? You gonna say something?" He whispered as Spyro walked up to the grave again.

"I didn't know anything about our kind when I first met Ignitus, but he was there with me, and the closest thing I had to a father, and I guess it's hard to believe that he's gone..." Spyro managed to get through his speech without tears.

"Listen, the guy may have been old, but in retrospect, he had a good heart, there I said it" Sparx added his own statement as Volteer managed to get Cyril to stop crying.

"Ignitus was a true friend to us all, and I don't know where any of us would be without him, we'd all most likely still be trapped in whatever barbaric prisons we were held in" Cyril stammered through the sentence as Cynder looked up in a little bit of an offensive look.

"No offense, of course" Volteer's reply made Cynder smile and look back at Spyro as the Purple Dragon stood in front of the grave, his tail shifted occasionally as Terrador sighed in sadness.

"Well, we're going to go back to Warfang, there are things to be done, we'll leave you young dragons to pay your respects" he informed them as the three Guardians walked off, and Sparx figured he'd follow, Cynder was about to leave as well, when she noticed that Spyro hadn't moved from where he was, so she decided to walk up to him.

"Spyro?" She said his name as he turned around, and what she saw sent more sympathy flooding through her, he was crying...

"Why, Cynder? Why did he have to die?" He stammered as Cynder walked up to him.

"I wish I fully knew the answer..." she replied as Spyro turned back to face the grave.

"I...I should've been the one" his statement confused Cynder.

"What do you mean?" She asked as he didn't change his direction.

"I should've been the one that was destroyed in the Belt of Fire, he...he's gone and it was my fault" Spyro's clarification shocked and horrified Cynder,

_"he couldn't have meant that, oh of course he did" _Cynder knew a fraction of the pain Spyro felt, she didn't spend much time with Ignitus, the Guardian was practically Spyro's father if he ever had a real one.

"Spyro, he died so we could live, that's what he wanted, he wanted us to push forward and defeat Malefor, and we did, his sacrifice wasn't in vain" Cynder explained as Spyro felt her warmth as she walked up beside him.

"It just...I feel so...empty, like my life was a piece of glass, and it's been shattered, Ignitus is that one missing piece I need to make everything whole again, and now I know that it will never be that way" Spyro still had a tearful expression on his face, and Cynder smiled at him.

"I know of a Dragon that can fill that hole, one whose been by your side the whole time, one who was strapped with you to that chain" she replied, Spyro turned his head to face her, and in response, she kissed him on the lips, he was surprised briefly, but quickly melted into it, when they pulled back, they coiled their tails, and leaned against one another, looking at Ignitus's grave, then they noticed that snow was starting to fall, yet they stayed there, honoring the fallen Guardian's memory, the flame stayed alit as the two Dragons watched it in peace, finally, Spyro stifled a yawn as Cynder giggled.

"It looks like my hero is tired, let's go home" she said to him as Spyro took one last look at the grave, and turned to follow.

"Thank you, for being here with me, Cynder" he said to her as she nuzzled him.

"Come on, let's leave Ignitus in peace, he's earned some much needed rest" she replied as they finally left and headed back to Warfang...

_Later that night_

Cynder's eyes opened as she heard faint mumbling coming from Spyro, she looked over to see him shifting in his sleep, his wing still draped over her, he was mumbling in his sleep as Cynder could only assume he was having a bad dream.

_"Oh, what are you dreaming of, my hero?" _She wondered, almost as if to answer, Spyro's mumbling became louder.

"No...Ignitus...don't...don't go" his forehead was sweating much more as Cynder took pity on him.

_"Ignitus would never leave him like this..." _she thought to himself.

"Cynder...don't leave me...too..." Spyro grumbled as Cynder looked very saddened.

_"I'd never leave you, my hero" _she thought to herself, suddenly Spyro started thrashing around in his sleep, the nightmare was getting worse, Cynder needed to end this now, she immediately stood up and started shaking him.

"Spyro...Spyro wake up!" Her statement was enough to break Spyro out of his nightmare.

"Cynder...?" He was breathing heavily, upon seeing his state, Cynder nestled herself back down beside him.

"It's alright, Spyro...it was just a dream..." she comforted him as he looked out the window.

"I...Cynder...promise me something" Spyro said to her as she gestured for him to go on.

"Please just promise me, that you won't leave me, I have nothing else to fight for, and if I lose you, I don't know what I'll do" Spyro's vulnerablity was surprising Cynder, she rarely ever saw this side of him.

"I promise..." she replied with a nuzzle, and the two of them stayed there for a long time.

"Thank you..." Spyro smiled with slight tears coming from his eyes, Cynder held his face and wiped away the tears.

"There's nothing to fear, I wouldn't dare leave you for another, your the one I want..." her explaination made Spyro smiled as they both rested their heads on the cushion they were laying on

"Don't worry, I won't let you get any nightmares" Cynder reassured him as she coiled her tail around his, and they nestled close to each other as they fell asleep...

The next day was much more lighthearted it seemed as the Guardians were hard at work helping to fix Warfang after the damage that Malefor has wreaked on it with the Earth Golem and the Destroyer, but Spyro didn't share the optimism with the rest of the citizens, the weight of Ignitus's death still hung heavily on his conscience, Cynder noticed this and did her best to keep his spirits high throughout the day, but Spyro wasn't exactly getting happier, he had barely eaten any food, and he hung his head the entire day.

"Spyro, please, you need to eat..." Cynder tried to reason with him, but he didn't flinch, that was the final pinch for Cynder, and she let some of the darkness within take over.

"Spyro, eat your damn food, now...let go of Ignitus" she growled, but that only warranted a more violent response from Spyro, who's body showed slight signs of magic.

"No! I can't! I can never let go of Ignitus! You don't understand, do you!? It's my fault that he died, but of course you wouldn't get it!" Suddenly all the anger seemed to fade from both of them as Cynder felt stung by his words, and Spyro realized what he had said, and despite Cynder being the one he snapped at, he was the one who started to form tears as he fell to the ground.

"I-I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said those t-things..." Spyro's voice spoke through tears as Cynder's hurt turned to sympathy, and she walked over to comfort him.

"It's fine...your just grieving, I shouldn't have been forceful with you..." Cynder laid down beside him and coiled her tail around his, and the two Dragons remained there for a long time, until they finally gazed into each other's eyes, until both of them felt very tired, and collapsed to the ground.

_"Huh? What...where are we?" Cynder looked around in confusion as Spyro appeared to have knowledge of this._

_"This only happens when the Chronicler wants to speak to me, or in this case: us" he explained as Cynder kept looking around, they seemed to be on an island of sorts, floating amongst the stars, as Cynder looked over the edge, nothing was in sight...but the stars._

_"I don't really like this..." she trailed off as she backed into Spyro, who turned to make sure she was safe._

_"Welcome, Young Dragons, I have waited for this moment for a long time" a familiar voice spoke out, causing Cynder to look at Spyro in concern, and when they turned around, a large, elderly dragon standing in their midst._

_"The Chronicler!" Spyro grew excited as he saw him, and then he saw who it was exactly._

_"Ignitus!" Spyro cried in joy as he ran up to the Fire Guardian, tears swelled from his eyes._

_"It is good to see you too, Young Dragon...and what's more, your companion is with you" his gaze shifted to Cynder, who nervously smiled._

_"Ignitus, I felt so lost without you, my life has no direction it seems, it feels like I have no one to turn to..." Spyro confessed as Ignitus merely smiled compassionately._

_"Young Dragon, you have some to turn to, and she stands right in front of you" he turned Spyro's attention to Cynder, who walked up to him._

_"Spyro, I've always been here..." she told him as Spyro hugged her as tight as he could, and she gladly returned the hug._

_"I love you so much..." Spyro whispered to her as she herself started tearing up._

_"Spyro, I have always been here for you, and I love you too..." Cynder explained as Ignitus's smile grew wider._

_"This is truly something that I've wanted to see all my life, and I'm proud and happy for you both, but my time with you is limited, so I say only this to you, I will always be with you...now have peaceful dreams tonight, Young Dragons, I will shield you from nightmares" Ignitus explained as he faded away, and Spyro and Cynder did sleep well that night, and into the next day..._

Spyro awoke with a newfound sense of purpose, Cynder could definitely tell, he had a newfound courage, a sense of giddiness and charm.

"You feel better?" She asked as she coiled her tail around his, and he smiled in a way that she had only seen in dreams.

"I couldn't be happier" and he stared off into the sky, seeing a slight illusion of Ignitus, smiling as he vanished, and at last, Spyro was at peace...

**(Hello y'all, aren't you glad you saw a happy ending? Probably, but still, it's pretty emotional, nevertheless, this is out now, the next thing that'll come is either Chapter 2 for Worlds of The Past, or Chapter 13 for Dawn of Amnesty, so be on the lookout, anyways, peace!)**


End file.
